


Shape of You

by Jelaine_The_First



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fluff and Angst, I dont even know how to classify this ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 16:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12089331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jelaine_The_First/pseuds/Jelaine_The_First
Summary: To kill Judal or not to kill Judal?A Snow White AU. Well, sorta.





	Shape of You

**Author's Note:**

> At first I can see why the movie used "fairest" since Snow White has fair skin like milk. Now, doesn't that remind you of someone? In this AU, I used "fairest" as in "prettiest", because Sinbad doesn't need to bleach his skin to be beautiful. His tanned skin is beautiful on him and is one of his charms <3

Once there was a kingdom, a place far in the middle of nowhere, on a deserted island where nobody else dropped on the tiny island other than for trading. A king saw potential on the tiny piece of land, and proceed to make roots on it; Gathering refugees from country to country, hand-picking his generals throughout the whole journey, learning the foundations of building a country, and so on. The country grew prosperous. Trading became one of their strong front, other than his powerful generals that also acted as his closest friends. The charismatic king named the kingdom Sindria, after his own name, Sinbad. 

* * *

Ja'far was writing furiously on his desk. The ink almost splattered everywhere as he wrote in haste. One of his assistants walked in and almost froze at Ja'far's tight face greeting him at doorstep. 

"What is it?" asked him grim and venomous. 

"U-uh… The agreement of Magnosdtat from King Sinbad, sir," said him while extending the scroll of paper to the vizier. Ja'far eyed the document with a sharp look, and back to his timid assistant. 

"Tell that king to stop looking at that goddamned mirror and do his job faster next time." He snatched the scroll off his hands and slammed the door in front of his face. The assistant 'eep'ed and jumped back, quickly scrambling away to warn the king about Ja'far's foul mood. 

* * *

In the king's chambers, Sinbad was seen staring into a body mirror, delicately decorated with gold trimmings and jewels at every corner. The king stared at it his reflection for the nth time and formed a confident smirk. 

_"Mirror, mirror, on the wall_ ," chanted him as he flowed magic through his voice. _"Who's the fairest of them all?"_

_"You, my king, is the fairest of them all."_

Satisfied, Sinbad shifted his gaze from the mirror to the window next to it, letting the sea breeze brushed his bangs backwards. He was well-aware of his handsome features. Together with his leadership skills and often-succesful flirting, Sinbad was everyone's dream husband. The smile pasted on his face was one of arrogance, strongly convinced that nobody on that island will ever be above him. 

* * *

The Sindria kingdom expected a vessel from Kou anytime today, and Sinbad was getting ready in front of his mirror. He put on the orange cloth over his head and slung it across his shoulder, perfecting the look. His torso was layered with a chest-revealing shirt, his hips hung an orange cloth that acts as a belt for his loose pants. The door to his room opened, revealing Sharrkan in a casual clothing like him. 

"The ship's here, Your Highness." Sharrkan knelt down before him and gave the Sindrian salute, and Sinbad went over to pat his shoulder. 

"Noted. Let's go." 

After ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the harbor and witnessed an extravagant ship with weird decorations, unlike the ships that usually came to Sindria for trading. Sinbad grew curious to its contents and passengers. Reading letters from Kou didn’t suffice to him. 

"You must be King Sinbad," spoke a low voice not far from where he stood, and Sinbad turned to the owner. A band of slanted eyes stared at him and his dark-skinned general. All of them were red or magenta hairs, except for one person. 

When Sinbad's eyes settled on the crown of black hair, he realized that he can't take his eyes away from the beautiful braid hanging from the person's head. He then moved to look at the person's face, and it was the most beautiful thing he had laid his eyes upon. 

The fair _fair_ skin sat almost perfectly below that thick ebony hair, and the eyes were a striking red that could shoot fear and fascination through anyone's hearts. The thin limbs went to tame down the swaying bangs on the face as the wind grew relentless that noon. On the pale eyelids, painted reddish purple eyeshadow, and pink lips pursed as some of the strands started tickling on the nose. 

For a moment, he forgot how to breath. 

A hand on his shoulder interrupted his long stare on the beautiful God's creation. He glanced at the tanned hand, who appeared to be Sharrkan's, and was pulled back to the current state of affairs. "My apologies," uttered him with a bashful smile. He shook hands with the seemingly leader of the pack, a crimson (and rather pinkish) head with a black fan in his grasp. "Yes, I am Sinbad, king of Sindria, and you are…?" 

"Koumei," said the man. "Ren Koumei, advisor of the Emperor of Kou." He released Sinbad's hand and introduced his important envoy one by one. "I brought together with me Ren Kouha, Ren Kouhana and the High Priest of Kou, Judal." 

_Judal_ , thought him. _How exotic_. He formed a smile before bowing slightly to them as a greeting. Kouha and Kouhana, if he recalled their names correctly, bowed back, but Judal just stood there with an air of arrogance around him, refused to step down to his level. 

Who does he think he is? Sinbad's increasing annoyance was perfectly concealed under his pretentious smile. "Come, let's go back to my palace. I am sure you are tired from your long journey." 

As he turned his back to lead the group, he heard a yawn and a tired groan seemingly to come from the esteemed priest. Lack of manners, ego higher than Sasan's castle, tight changshan clothing. How did this guy got appointed as high priest? Did the monks got high on weed before making a decision? 

When they arrived at the palace, the Kou visitors were greeted by a line of palace residents, dressed in white robes, and a guy with green keffiyeh bowed to them. 

"Welcome to Sindria," said him simple, with his hands laced together in a Sindrian salute and a (fake) smile plastered. 

They all retired to their chambers. Kouha went to the room with a beach view, Koumei preferred a closed room with no windows but still spacious, Kouhana picked the one at the very top, and Judal chose a room with forest trails outside the window. In a way, Sinbad can judge their personalities from it. He himself went straight to his mirror (whom he called Focalor) to get his daily dose of narcissist appreciation. 

_"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?_ " asked him as he stood in front of the mirror, his usual confident smile stayed on his face. 

His reflection swirled into the void and moments later, his face didn’t appear. This, he did not expect. Before he can grow nervous, Focalor the Mirror revealed Judal's sleeping face, with his unbraided hair laid in disarray on the pillows. 

_"You, my King, is fair, but Judal is the fairest of them all."_

Talk about following the words down to a T. 

This stroke a chord in Sinbad. His grip tightened and he clenched his teeth in envy. This cannot go on. He should be the fairest of them all! 

* * *

His first attempt was to make them feel uncomfortable in Sindria, and make them go away as soon as possible. But the next morning, Judal was nowhere to be seen. 

"I am sorry for our priest's behaviour," voiced out Kouha at the breakfast table. "He sometimes vanishes without a trace and went on his own business for the whole day, but it's nothing to be concerned about. He will find a way back to the palace." 

Oh, he's not worried. Not at all. Judal's was just thwarting his plan, and that's what he was most concerned about. They ate their breakfast in peace, with small talks happening between Koumei, Kouhana and Sinbad. Before he entered his office, he ordered Jafar to accompany their guests and search for Judal while at it. 

"Why?" asked Jafar, getting a weird vibe from Sinbad's order. 

"Just do it." And he went to his desk to start working, and most importantly take his mind off the pest that infested his magical mirror, the Focalor. 

* * *

When dinner comes, he saw Judal getting dragged by Kouhana into the dining room, and somehow he felt… 

Relieved. 

Wait, what? 

Wasn’t Judal the object he needed to banish from his island? He took Sinbad's spot as the most beautiful person in the kingdom. After some time, Sinbad shook his head and sighed. A day of non-stop working might have done his mind no good. He will have to sleep it off so he could think back like a ruler tomorrow. 

That night, he forgot to visit Focalor. 

* * *

_”Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"_

_"You, my king, is fair, but Judal is the fairest of them all."_

* * *

Tomorrow came with a bright ray of sunlight shimmering over Sindrian lands. Sinbad woke up with a good stretch before lifting himself off the bed. With his hand occupied with a toothbrush, he glanced outside the window. From his view, a black dot was seen flying towards the outside of Sindrian borders. He didn’t pay enough attention to, shifted his focus on something else like the waking citizen and chirping birds and-- 

An electrocution sound was heard. Sinbad quickly searched for the source of it and found the black dot, now covered in smoke, falling from the sky and about to crash ugly on the ground. In panic, he washed his mouth as quickly as he can and grabbed a magic carpet to fly towards the scene. Upon arrival, he was met with a curled up figure of Judal, the priest, coughing his lungs out. 

"What were you doing?" asked Sinbad as he landed on the ground with a thud, perfectly on two feet. The crouching Judal gave him a momentary glare, and later responded angrily, "You spend one and a half day with us and never bothered to tell me that you erected a barrier?" 

Sinbad let out a soft 'oh' and a snort. He looked away, the situation too funny for him to witness directly. "Well, to be fair, you were away for the whole day yesterday, and I thought you already knew when you guys landed at the harbor." 

"I was taking a nap when we arrived." Judal pursed his lips, unamused. 

This time, Sinbad chuckled away at Judal's unluckiness. "Look, let me make it up to you. Maybe we can take a walk in the markets and see what you fancy?" He tilted his head on the question, equipped with a charming smile. This combination usually worked. 

The man stood up, dusting off his pink sleeveless changshan and black loose pants. "Peach," said him simple. 

Sinbad blinked. "What?" 

"Peach, dumbass," repeated Judal. "Do you have it here?" 

The king was so busy being baffled on Judal's request that he let the name 'dumbass' slipped past his mind. "Yeah, yeah, of course we have!" He boarded his magic carpet and pat the space beside him. "Hop on." 

With elegance, Judal complied to him and effortlessly manipulated some wind magic to float and landed light on the carpet, soft like a feather touching the surface of water. For a second, Sinbad was entranced by him before he snapped back to reality. Judal was his rival and there's no way he's admiring a rival. He's going to take back his place as the most beautiful person in the kingdom, by any means necessary. 

Before he realized it, they had already arrived at the marketplace, which was buzzing with traders and buyers from all over the world. The carpet stopped at an empty land nearby and they stepped off it, eager to join the crowd, not before Sinbad rolled the carpet and stowed it away at a safe place. 

The sun was high in the sky and people's activities started to peak. It was noisy and full of people, but it wasn’t packed. Perfect for Judal who loathed to have strangers touch his body. He skipped his way from store to store, his eyes shone with excitement. It took Sinbad some time to catch up to him. 

"Like what you see?" The king asked, his lips quirked up a smile. Judal looked at him, then the thought hit him; He was acting like a kid in a toy store. He harrumphed and tore his gaze away from Sinbad. 

"It's not bad." 

Judal continued his walk, with great control over his urges to just _run_ through and scream in awe, and Sinbad tailed him behind. The oracle's steps stopped at a clothing shop, filled with dancers' outfit hanging outside, all accompanied with intricate gold embroidery. Judal almost drooled at the sight. 

He pulled Sinbad's arms to the shop and called for the shopkeeper. "Hey, you. What kind of clothes is this?" 

The shopkeeper answered with his professional smile. "It's the newest fashion from Balbadd! It's perfect for hot countries such as Sindria or Qishan, or during a festival in summer!" 

Sinbad eyed Judal who was gawking at the clothes with unwavering interest. "Getting one for Miss Kouhana, I assume?" 

Puzzled, Judal looked back at Sinbad. "Oh yeah, maybe I'll get one for her too." 

Too? What do you mean _too_? "You don't mean… to put it on….do you?" 

* * *

It's hard for people to tear their gaze away from the beautiful figure prancing through the market. With a silk cloth covering the nose and mouth, it's difficult to determine who's that angel made-flesh. Sinbad himself can't stop staring at the wide expanse of skin. The priest made no qualms on showing off his sculpted midriff and milky thighs. It's almost a sin whenever Judal moved; The clothes crumpling and revealed more of the skin, and Sinbad swallowed. 

Judal was too beautiful for his own good. 

It didn’t take long before hungry eyes caught Judal and catcalls began echoing behind them as they passed through an alleyway to the wet market. Sinbad almost lashed out at the improper behaviour shown by the people loitering around there, but before he could form a sentence, Judal had turned around. 

"What the fuck did you just do, you motherfucker? Do you want a piece of me?" shouted Judal, both of his middle fingers were erected at the catcaller's direction. "I dare you to do that again! I'll tear the shit out of your sorry skulls!" 

That deep voice echoed and stopped the background noise altogether, including Sinbad's. They all stared at Judal who was walking away with a huff. Now the swaying hips didn’t seem too enticing anymore. 

* * *

_"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, is Judal still the fairest of them all?"_

_"…Yes, my king."_

_"Is there any way for me to be the fairest again?"_

_"The person will have to disappear from the world, my king."_

* * *

He spied on Judal as the man sat down in front of him for breakfast. Speaking of which, Judal seemed to have taken a liking on that dancer's outfit. Sinbad later spotted Princess Kouhana, surprisingly still in her frilly Kou attire. Then what's the deal with Judal? His outfit was attracting unwanted stare from everybody in the room, including Drakon who already had a wife, and Sahil had to smack his arm to pull her husband back to her. 

Sinbad guessed that Judal had taken that into account, and the priest just loved the attention. He rolled his eyes at the discovery. With each day that passed by, Judal's attitude just seemed going south more and more in his book. 

However, it's so hard to eat when that moon-kissed skin languidly moved like silk in the wind, the black braid beautifully flowing from that small shoulder, painting black on that otherwise whitest skin he had seen. When the lips pulled out a bite from the peach, Sinbad can only ogle at how luscious the pink sensitive skin looked, and that eyeshadow, that morning played a color of silverish blue, only added the color palette on the name Jud-- 

"Your Excellency, your tea is dripping." 

A voice from Spartos snapped Sinbad back to his breakfast. It's true, the cup of tea he was holding was spilling tea on his white robe, tainting it with dirty beige. "Oh--Ooops." Frantically putting back the cup, he snatched a napkin to wipe off the stain as best as he can. 

"Are you ill, Your Excellency?" 

"No no no," denied Sinbad spontaneously. "I am not thinking straight. I, uh…just need some fresh air." He stood up and left the room, his heart pacing too fast for him to ignore. He can hear his heartbeat thumping strong, and it's _deafening_. He went to the nearest balcony and sipped some fresh morning air, attempting to calm himself down. 

It was like some sort of magic. He knew Judal can wield it, but to be this powerful without holding a staff… The monks must've witnessed this talent in Judal. That's why he was given the title. 

_"The person will have to disappear from the world, my king."_

Focalor's voice resounded in his mind, ricocheted from one cell to another. Yeah, Judal has bad manners. The Kou Empire probably wouldn’t miss him that much, if he dies. That thought was somehow too grim for Sinbad, but his own vanity drove him near the edge, waiting to pull him down into the bottomless pit. His envy grew even greater than before. 

* * *

Ja'far exploded when he found no Sinbad in the king's office. 

"Where in the world are you, **Sinbaaaadddd**?!" screamed Ja'far at the entrance. The guards patrolling the area jolted in surprise. When they sensed Ja'far's looming anger near them, they froze in place. The king really did it this time. 

Meanwhile, a figure was seen reading scrolls in the library, researching on putting together a concoction of poison. The finger acted as a guide for Sinbad as he browsed through the lengthy text, keeping his time in the library as short as possible. Mostly because he has a worldly matters to tend afterwards. Scribbling on a piece of paper, his eyes scrutinized his surrounding to make sure nobody was peeping on his secret activity. After he got what he needed, he rolled back the scrolls and clumsily stacked them on the floor. He has palace maids to tidy these up. 

He tried to silence his footsteps as he trot in between the pillars, hiding from plain sight. When he was about to reach his office, he heard a voice clearing its throat. Sinbad turned nervously and found Ja'far standing at a dark corner, his rage was one step away from going back to his assassin's days. 

" _Where were you?_ " asked him in a dark tone. 

Sinbad let out a nervous awkward chuckle. "Look, I can explain." 

"EXCUSES!" Ja'far stomped his foot in anger. "Where's that Reim trading conditions I asked of you a week ago?!" 

Sinbad leaned his back to his office door, his hand secretly turned the knob. "I-I assure you, it will be done by…. Morning! Tomorrow morning!" 

Ja'far narrowed his eyes at the king, as if he could unleash his daggers through his glare. "You better," breathed him under his tone, and he darted to his office not far from Sinbad's. On the other hand, Sinbad released a sigh of relief. That was one storm he didn’t dare to come across. Silently, he walked into his working space. The aroma of paper and ink hit his nose, and his mind registered his position once again. His body moved towards his desk as he started his job as a king. 

* * *

"Where is His Highness?" asked Drakon to Ja'far, and the advisor shrugged. It was almost dinner but the king was not in the dining hall. 

"He could be dying for all I care, as long as he finishes his work," said him with a blank face. 

"Don't be like that, Jaf. He's not that bad." 

The man huffed, agitation still nesting in his breath. "Fine. Let's go check on him." When they stepped into his office, it was dark and empty. Sinbad had disappeared again and this time they didn’t know where he might have went. They both head out afterwards, Ja'far feeling discontented at the time wasted just to end up being disappointed. 

Somewhere in the kitchen, Sinbad was seen sneaking and holding a vial. His eyes immediately caught a glimpse of peach, and his hands grabbed it and went outside. The cork of the vial opened with a 'pop' and Sinbad held the peach carefully, letting the poisonous brew inside without touching his skin. The odor dissipated, revealing the peach back to its original fruity scent. Good, Judal would be none the wiser. 

He closed the kitchen door behind him, making sure to make as little noise as possible. 

"Yo." 

Sinbad almost plastered himself on the ceiling when the voice greeted him. He turned around to see a floof of black hair at his nose level, and a pair of ruby eyes staring at his weird behaviour. 

"Oh… Hey." He greeted him back. 

"What's up with you? Dinner will be served, right? Why are you sneaking food out?" asked with an eyebrow raised. 

His hand shot up to rub his neck, trying to calm himself down, or else the nervous breakdown just might cripple his stomach. "I-uh…Snack! Yeah, I love to snack!" answered him with a strange glee in his tone. He cursed himself at the failed act. 

Judal's eyes didn’t move away from Sinbad, and it almost crushed him at the intensity. His palms were splashed with cold sweat. 

"…Is that peach in your hand?" Thank the Almighty God of peach, Sinbad shouted in his mind. Judal's attention span was as short as his spiky hair. "Yes, it's peach. Why, do you want it?" 

Sinbad swore he saw Judal's eyes glistened. In contrast to his usual brass behaviour, this Judal seemed so cute. 

"Here, you can have it," said him as he handed the peach to Judal. 

"Eh? I thought it's your snack?" 

"I can always grab another one." He shoved the peach at Judal's direction, urging him to take it. 

With a slight hesitation, Judal took it from Sinbad. In the end, he decided that his doubt was unwarranted. 

Sinbad eyed Judal's every movement, from the moment his hand brushed on Sinbad's fingers (his heart almost stopped at the contact) to the peach settling on the lips (Sinbad was so jealous of the peach now). A crunch was heard as Judal bit into the peach. He saw Judal's faint Adam's apple bobbed up and down; He has now swallowed the poisonous delight. Time seemed to stretch on forever as Sinbad waited for the poison to set in. 

Meanwhile, Judal felt something unusual when he swallowed his bite. At first, it tasted like normal, then it went _peachy_. Once it has gone down, he looked back at the fruit, and that's when his extreme dizziness suddenly hit his head like a hurricane. 

Judal tried to grab on whatever's close to him, and he ended up grabbing Sinbad's robe. He clutched onto his dear life as the world started to spin uncontrollably, then everything went black. 

* * *

_"Oh thou whose named Focalor, now who is the fairest of them all?"_

_"You, my king, is fair, but Judal is still the fairest of them all."_

The king nearly lost his grip on the comb he was holding. He stared into the mirror and pondered at where it went wrong. "I **killed** him, Focalor." 

After Judal ate the peach, he fell down in Sinbad's arms, and the king carried him to his bedroom, covered the body with blanket and made it look like he's sleeping. 

_"You merely put him into a deep slumber,_ " answered the mirror. 

In rage, Sinbad threw the comb at Focalor, but it didn’t do so much as a scratch. He stared at the floor, his breath ragged. He can feel the flame of anger blossoming deep beneath his calm façade. His eyes spotted a short blade jutting out of his box of weapons. A small hobby of his; Collecting weapons that was coated with gold and jewellery, but it was never used. They are simply for display. 

He might make an exception for the extravagant dagger. He walked over to the box and took the weapon in his calloused hand. Adrenaline rushed in him as he remembered the familiar feeling of life and death swimming in every fiber of his being. He will end Judal's life when midnight falls. 

* * *

Sinbad thought he had been sneaking too much today. But it didn’t matter. He will do anything to achieve his goals, even if he uses the dirtiest of methods. 

He covered his feet with cloth so he could move with nary a noise. Sinbad stepped into the room, making sure that nobody saw his deeds. It truly was a serene room, with Judal so still and the voices from the forest nearby filled the room with insect's harmonic orchestra. He could have stayed here and enjoyed it, if his initial intention wasn’t so rotten. 

Silently, he crept towards Judal, the shining knife in hand. When he sat on Judal's waist, knife rose high above his head, ready to stab Judal into eternal sleep, Sinbad found himself unable to do so. 

Was it magic again? 

Sinbad looked down on Judal. His peaceful face was nothing like the alive version of him. Sinbad knew Judal was a man, but his appearance was so demure and feminine, he was nothing more than a reckless and uncouth princess. And Judal had brought some fun in Sinbad's life. Maybe. When was the last time his heart beat so powerfully at the sight of someone? When was the last time people had greeted him with 'yo' instead of 'Your Highness'? Even the memory in the markets brought a smile to Sinbad, at the grimmest of times as now. His golden eyes glanced over to Judal's features again. Does he really want to end all that excitement just to be the prettiest again? 

His hand put the blade aside, partly because it grew tired holding it for so long. He scooted closer to Judal, and caressed his cheek. Somewhere in his heart, Sinbad was disappointed in himself for letting his vanity took over. 

"I know you're sleeping, but I still want to say this," muttered him, his hand gently brushing the still cheek. "Whoever you choose as your partner, will be very lucky, my dear Judal. You are bold, foolhardy, rude, but you bring life to people's smiles." 

The memory of Judal cursing at the catcallers resurfaced, and Sinbad escaped a single chuckle. 

"Thank you for coming into my life." 

Sinbad crouched down and kissed Judal's forehead lovingly. The skin felt warm on his lips. He was grateful that he threw his evil intent away. Judal was a blessing in demon's disguise. 

He managed to tuck the blankets back and made it look untouched. Sinbad grabbed the small kris, sheathed it and hid it under his clothes. He walked back to his room, feeling dejected. 

* * *

It's hard to face the next day without complaining when he barely caught a wink of sleep last night. His mind was overwhelmed with Judal, and how to bring him back, but if he stayed in Judal's room, it will only bring unwanted scandals. He rose from the bed and took a shower, hoping his mind would be put in a bit of ease with a touch of water. 

Once he was ready, he walked down the stairs towards the dining hall for breakfast, which was already bustling with palace dwellers. Upon the sea of colorful heads, his eyes tried to find a someone that's been bugging his mind for the whole night. There was no way Judal would be awake, he convinced himself. The poison he prepared was strong. He knew the chances were slim to none. 

But there he was, sipping on hot cocoa at the balcony overlooking the city. Sinbad joined him after fetching himself a fruit. He just wanted to find an excuse to eat with him outside. Honestly, he's not even that hungry. 

"Hey." 

He can see Judal's shoulders stiffen from behind. The head slowly turned to look at him. Sinbad wondered what made Judal so anxious. "Sup," breathed him without his usual exuberance. 

"Are you okay?" asked the king out of concern. 

A very heavy sigh came from the priest. "What happened yesterday?" 

Sinbad tensed upon hearing the question. "You passed out, so I put you to bed." The statement wasn’t entirely wrong, though. 

Judal only 'oh'ed at his explanation, and his unoccupied hand touched the place where Sinbad kissed him last night. "It could be a dream then." 

"Dreamt of something pleasant?" Sinbad gave a soft smile to him. 

The look on Judal's eyes were distant, as if longing for something unattainable. "Yeah, you could say that." 

_He dreamt of something warm touching his most vulnerable place. He dreamt of being loved like nobody else did. He dreamt of his soul being touched, and the bruise stayed pleasant in his heart._

"Do you have a fever, High Priest?" This time, Sinbad stepped closer to Judal, just to get a closer look on the poor man. The poison he concocted could still have side effects on him, and Sinbad felt responsible for it. 

Judal removed his hand and finally realized how close his face was to Sinbad's. His golden eyes reflected warmth and kindness, almost familiar… 

_Was it you?_

* * *

The Kou Empire ambassadors went back today. The Generals went back to their activities within the palace but Sinbad decided to take the day off, casting Ja'far's ire aside. They would usually brushed it off, saying Sinbad could use a break from work, but this time the king seemed utterly defeated. The empty look on his face was what worried them the most. 

Sinbad didn’t pay much attention to his surrounding as he dragged himself back to his chambers. From the entrance, he saw Focalor, hanging firmly on the wall, waiting to serve Sinbad again. 

_"O Mirror, I shall not ask who is the fairest again, nor shall I ask for you to leave. But answer me_ ," chanted him with a voice full of magic, _"Everytime I feel content like I was filled with pyre, was it truly what my heart desire?"_

Focalor didn’t answer immediately, instead he showed Sinbad his reply. A picture of Judal looking into the sea, brushing his soft wavy hair with his fingers, and the sad look plastered on his face. 

_"O Sinbad, my king, I can see the truth from the whole world, down to the things invisible from naked eyes. But you, my lord, has an obvious pine for a special someone, who hath moved you out of your orbits into a new horizon."_

Sinbad definitely felt attacked by that. Was he really that obvious? 

He moved closer to the mirror and shot up a hand to touch Judal's image. It felt cold on his fingertips. He was so close yet so far. With a forlorn look, he leaned forward and gave it a gentle kiss. He prayed that someday he will meet with Judal again, preferrably soon.


End file.
